Home sales still falling in Miami-Dade, Broward and rising in Palm Beach: Realtors reports

Miami-Dade and Broward counties continued to see declines in residential sale volume and increases in prices in January, according to the latest Miami and Greater Fort Lauderdale associations of Realtors reports.

In Palm Beach, meanwhile, more condos, townhouses and houses sold this January than the last. And across South Florida, distressed sales continue to drop as that segment of the market dries up.

In the U.S., the number of homes sold climbed in January to the highest level since February 2007, despite limited supply and rising prices.

Miami-Dade

Residential sales in Miami-Dade decreased 3.3 percent to 1,731 sales last month from 1,790 sales in January 2016. Single-family homes fared better than condos, though, with home sales rising by 4.4 percent to 857 last month from 821 in January of last year. Condo sales decreased by 9.8 percent to 874 deals from 969, according to the report.

In January 2017, $702.3 million of residential properties sold, marking a 5.2 percent decrease from the $740.5 million in sales volume recorded in January of last year. While overall sales volume is down, the decline is less than the previous month, which saw a 16.4 percent drop in sales volume from December 2015 to December 2016.

The Miami Association of Realtors said homes priced between $200,000 and $600,000 continue to see gains in sales, pricing and dollar volume. Sales of those properties increased 22.5 percent in January, from 476 in 2016 to 583 last month.

Residential prices in Miami, meanwhile, continued to rise for the 62nd consecutive month. Asking prices for single-family homes rose by nearly 15 percent in January 2017, up from $270,000 to $310,000. Condo prices also increased, from $205,000 to $222,250, which represents an 8.4 percent year-over-year bump.

Broward

Single-family home sales decreased from January 2016 to January 2017 in Broward, to 982 from 1,037. The number of townhomes and condos, meanwhile, increased slightly by 2.2 percent last month compared to the same period in 2016.

Asking prices also rose for all residential listings in Broward County, according to the Greater Fort Lauderdale Realtors. Median sales prices increased by roughly 10 percent, from an average of $284,000 in January 2016 to $311,250 in January 2017; while median sales prices of townhouses and condos rose to $143,000 from $130,000.

At the same time, inventory fell for houses, townhouses and condos. Active listings of single-family homes fell by 7.2 percent to 5,486 in January of this year from 5,910 in January 2016, while the number of new listings saw a slight bump. Pending inventory on houses fell by 18.8 percent, according to the report. The pending, active and new listings of condos and townhouses, meanwhile, all saw year-over-year declines.

Palm Beach

Palm Beach County’s residential market continued to stand out from its southern neighbors. January 2017 saw more condos, townhouses and homes sell than in January 2016. The number of closed sales of houses increased to 1,146 last month from 1,092 in 2016, marking a 4.9 percent ascent. Condos rose by 5.7 percent, to 847 in January of this year from 801 last year, according to the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches.

Despite gains in closed sales, inventory also rose across the board in Palm Beach County, by 7.3 percent for single-family homes (up to 7,784) and by 7.5 percent for townhouses and condos (up to 6,841).